entrepreneur

I have been self-employed for over 7 years now. Over that period of time, I have made mistakes on a daily basis. The one story I always tell is starting a business with an ink-jet printer rather than a laser printer because I was trying to save money. After changing ink every other week, I [...]

Despite the fact both Canada and the United States have posted job gains, many of the jobs are part-time positions and the unemployment rate among younger workers (15-25 years old) continues to be quite high (over 15% in Canada), causing a larger structural problem since it is this group of workers who need to fund [...]

One of the larger challenges of the entrepreneur or self-employed is how to manage their own personal finances. The challenge is manifold: income can be erratic, a business is a jealous cash flow mistress and the financial services industry is mostly made up of life-time employees with little understanding of the day-to-day lives of the [...]

Although small business starts appear to be consistent regardless of the economic cycle, many people are forced into entrepreneurship during downturns. Some will succeed. Others will fail. Why a small business succeeds or fails is often a subject of great debate and academic research. As a general comment, economic conditions, in and of itself, is [...]

The conventional wisdom on starting your own business is that the odds are against you. The frequently cited statistic is that 75% of all businesses fail within the first 5 years. However, the devil is in the details. The typical methodology of measuring business failure is to tabulate the number of employer accounts opened with [...]

A funny thing happens during recessions. The number of people enrolled in multi-level marketing (MLM) businesses spikes even as the revenue of MLM companies (at least those publicly traded) decreases. For example, Pre Paid Legal Services, Inc., traded on the NASDAQ exchange, reported in its last quarter that membership revenue decreased 3% but associate services [...]

I have to admit my bias upfront. I hate working from a home office. I suppose I was weaned in the old school culture of work-dress up, attend to your office to attend to work- and I enjoy the ceremony of going to work even if I don’t appreciate the armpits in my face in [...]

Picking a small business banking account can be like eating at a buffet. There is something for everyone but it is hard to tell which offerings are the best for you given that they are so diverse. The issue is compounded by the fact that small business banking is not like personal banking. A small [...]

I would like to congratulate Quick Lunar Cop, Mitch and Brian for winning the 500th post prizes. Since there were several Brian’s that entered, I have emailed all the winners. Congrats! Enjoy the prize. Although this post falls primarily in the entrepreneurship category, if you are investor of public or private businesses, the following are [...]

Franchising is often seen as a good balance between being an employee and being self-employed. Ideally, a franchise provides its franchisees a turn key operation for a branded business while providing more freedom than typical employment. However, a 1995 study by Wayne State University found that 62% of franchises were operating after 4 years, compared [...]

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